Thursday, February 6, 2014

Today's Special -- Elizabeth Michels

We love debut authors around here and it's especially fun when that author is one whose journey I've watched for a few years. I met Elizabeth Michels at the Moonlight & Magnolias conference in Atlanta a few years ago (she's a regular in our fabulous shoes photos from RWA conferences). She's fun, hardworking and very talented and today, I'm thrilled to introduce her as a published author!Get more information about Elizabeth and her books at her website.

Welcome, Elizabeth!
Congratulations on the release of your debut, Must Love Dukes. I
understand that this is the first book in your historical romance Tricks of the Ton series. Will
you please tell our readers about the book as well as what is planned for the
series?

First of all thank you for hosting me here on The Romance
Dish. I’m excited to be celebrating the
release of my first book with you! Must Love
Dukes begins with Lily stealing from the wrong man—Devon Grey, the Mad Duke
of Thornwood. She only wants to undo the
damage her brothers have caused to the family, but she gets far more than she
bargained for when she meets Devon that night. Lily and Devon meet again a year later in a
ballroom, where he enacts his revenge for her theft, only in the most
unconventional ways. Lily follows along
unwillingly with his plots until his eccentric schemes begin to bring her
closer to the maddening Duke. But when Devon finally must choose between Lily
and the future of his family, will the relationship they’ve built survive?

The Tricks of the Ton series follows the lives of three
ladies as they journey into deceptive plots and attempt to unravel the tangled
aftermath of their choices. The
discovery of each of their clandestine activities will pull them closer to love
and drive their relationships apart as they search for their places in English
society.

Book 2, Desperately Seeking Suzanna, plays out at the same time as Must Love Dukes. In fact there are a few scenes in both books
that can be seen in the opposite book.
It follows Holden Ellis, Lord Steelings as he tries to unravel Sue
Green’s deception in his search for Suzanna.

Book 3 is How to Lose a Lord in 10
Days or Less where Katie Moore is…well…trying to lose Lord Amberstall. And yes, it happens in 10 days or less. *grins* The Tricks of the Ton series keeps
growing as I write it. Even now, I’m
writing about a few characters I think everyone will recognize, and I have
plans for more books after this one.

That's great news! I really enjoyed Must Love Dukes and am looking forward to more books!

Lily and Devon have
an unusual first meeting before she disappears for the next year. What is it about second chance love that
calls to you as a writer and what is it about these two that convinced you that
they deserved a second chance?

I love the depth that time gives to a love story. I’ve always been a fan of books that begin
long before the first page of chapter one.
When I started writing Must Love
Dukes I knew that Lily and Devon needed to be together. Of course that doesn’t mean their path will
be without obstacles. In fact they have
quite a few issues from the past to overcome—beginning with how they met.

Without giving away any spoilers, what’s the one scene that
you would never cut from Must Love Dukes?

My favorite scene is at the climax of the story and, without
spoiling the ending, involves 2 bottles of whiskey, a surprise appearance of a
gentleman, a stolen carriage, a group of angry dock workers and 2 ships in the
London harbor. Of course there are many
scenes I’m attached to in Must Love Dukes. I like to make unexpected things happen in
the traditional settings of the Regency period.
Life is simply more fun when turned on its ear.

In Must Love Dukes
we also meet the hero and heroine of your next book, Desperately Seeking Suzanna. What can we expect in this second
book? When will it be released?

Desperately Seeking
Suzanna releases on March 4th, exactly one month after Must Love Dukes. I’m so excited to share this story with
everyone! This book is a Cinderella story with some definite twists from the
original tale. You can expect a wild
adventure that takes you through most of the ballrooms in London, an unexpected
love story and plenty of chocolate cake.

I can't wait! :)

What inspired you to begin writing historical romance?

Before I was a historical romance author I was an avid
reader. If the book has a girl in a ball
gown on the cover and was published in the past 10 years, I’ve probably read
it. I started writing these stories set
in this time and place I love when my husband noticed one day how many books we
had piled all over our house. He was
shocked at the number of books I’d read and suggested I try to write one. At that time, I was a stay-at-home-mom to a
newborn who napped through half of the day.
So, I started writing. What began
as a hobby soon turned into an obsession and now, 5 years after I sat down at
the kitchen table with the crazy idea to write a book, I’m here celebrating the
release of Must Love Dukes! So, I
guess my husband was right, but don’t tell him I said that.

Your secret is safe with us!

It must be so exciting to see your name on the cover of your
first book. Did you do anything special
to commemorate the release of Must Love
Dukes?

You mean other than dancing around my house while clutching
copies of my book? *grins* How about
taking far too many selfies with the copies my publisher sent me?

Of course, that was just to kick off the party—I’ll be
celebrating all month.

What an awesome photo! I love it!

What’s your current favorite book by an author other than
you?

Do I have to pick just one?
I love everything written by Lisa Kleypas. But, my overall favorite book is Scandal in Spring—Daisy is my favorite wallflower. I’m also really looking forward to Julia
London’s The Trouble with Honor. She’s also on my auto-buy list. And now that my first book has been released
to the world, I think I’ve earned some reading time. Look out, TBR pile, you’re about to get
tackled.

If you could step into the life of any fictional character,
who would you choose and why?

Buttercup from The
Princess Bride. She gets to ride off
into the sunset on the back of a white horse and in the company of her true
love, a giant and a soon-to-be pirate.
Does it get better than that? I
don’t think so. Although, being Jane
from Thor would have its
advantages. *winks*

Will you be attending any conferences or book signings this
year where readers will have an opportunity to meet you?

Romance Writers of America’s annual conference in San
Antonio, Texas on July 23rd.

Moonlight and Magnolias Conference in Norcross, Georgia on
October 11th.

I’m also in talks with a major chain store about 2 signings
this summer at 2 different locations.
When I know more, I’ll let you know.
I keep my calendar of events updated on my website so check in with me
occasionally at http://www.elizabethmichels.com

Thanks so much for visiting with us, Elizabeth and best
wishes for success with your books. Would you like to
ask our readers a question today?

Thank you for letting me stop by to chat about my debut
novel. I’ve had a great time! For a
chance to win an autographed copy of Must
Love Dukes, what’s your favorite way to celebrate a happy occasion in your
life? Okay, readers. Tell us your favorite way to celebrate happy occasions, ask Elizabeth a question or just leave a comment. One randomly chosen person who leaves a comment will win a copy of Must Love Dukes. Elizabeth has graciously opened her giveaway to all U.S. and international readers!Elizabeth's publisher, Sourcebooks has also offered an unsigned copy of Must Love Dukes for giveaway today so two copies are up for grabs!

Congratulations Elizabeth on your debut . The picture is wonderful. It shows complete "Joy". :) I really liked the excerpt and have this new series on my TRL now. Thanks for the post.We usually celebrate with lots of screeching and hugging and then a nice homemade dinner.Carol LLucky4750 (at) aol (dot) com

What a wonderful feeling to know that your book has been published and you are doing a grand tour to promote it.. Sounds like a wonderful book and I am sure it will be flying off the shelves.. Congrats. I usually celebrate big moments with my BFF's and we have dinner and lots of laughter..

Elizabeth, first of all, your books sound WONDERFUL!! I cannot wait to read them!! Fun and intrigue, sparks and love. Second, I love your selfie and your author photo at the top of the blog today. Beautiful. :) Last, but not least, I really like how some of the scenes of previous books are played out in other stories, yet from different characters' perspectives. That is so neat that you have done this, and how in the world did you keep it all straight? I am excited to find a debut author that really interests me. I've been in a reading slump lately and when I read your interview today, I was interested right away. Thanks for being here at TRD! CONGRATS on all of your books and your series!!

Thanks, Deb! How did I keep the crossover scenes straight? Not very well. LOL Just kidding. It's something that once done, I swore I would never do again...and now I'm doing it again with the book I'm writing. I think my production editor was about to kill me after making sure sections dialogue matched across the books, but I'm really happy with how it came together. I read 2 books by Johanna Lindsey years ago that crossed over one another and I remember thinking how cool it was. What I didn't think about was how hard it is to do! It makes me feel better that you appreciate my hard work on that--since I have less hair now. ;)

Congratulations on your debut, Elizabeth !! I love the premise of this series and the covers are gorgeous! Can't wait to read them all.

I celebrate with chocolate, pizza and a DVD binge ! I work a 40 hour a week day job at Walmart so my idea of a great afternoon is food I love, watching a stack of DVD's, reading a great historical romance or two snuggled up in bed with my dogs and cat.

That sounds like an awesome evening, Louisa! I don't get to do it very often, but I love to binge on movies or a tv series all day. Lazy days are the best! Thanks for the congrats! I hope you like my books! :)

I love debut authors and these books look fabulous! Love the covers. I enjoy going out to dinner to celebrate things or just spending time with my family. I hope to get a dinner out for Valentine's Day. So I don't have to cook.

Congrats Elizabeth on the new release! It looks and sounds fantastic! I'm definitely going to be adding to my "want" list :) Ummm... to mark special occasions, I usually go out to eat at a nice restaurant with friends or I indulge in a fav dessert :)

My favorite way to celebrate a special occasion is with family. I cook all of our meals at home, am told I'm a good cook too, but I love to eat out once in awhile! So we pick a place that has the kind of food I don't cook at home (Japanese). We love love love Japanese food! Thanks for asking and glad to "see" you again, Elizabeth! I just got introduced to you yesterday so it was nice to hear a little bit more about you on another blog. Thanks for the post! jdh2690@gmail.com

I share your love of Japanese food, Janice. I'm counting down the days until my niece and her husband (he's Japanese) come to the states for a visit. He's a great cook and is always happy to feed us. :)

Hi Janice! It's great to "see" you again too! I love going out for sushi because I can't cook that at home. I'm the designated cook in my house too. But, I have to admit, the nicest part is not having to do the dishes. ;) I hope I run into you again soon!

Congratulations on the release of Must Love Dukes on Tuesday! I love your Tricks of The Ton Series!

My husband and I love Greenville where my sons and his family lived until he was transferred to Columbia. Of course what my husband loved best about your city was the "mini" Red Sox baseball field they have downtown! I loved the walking trails myself and your great zoo that my grandchildren "made" me take them to (several times) during our last visit to Greenville!

The one thing my son and his wife miss the most if the great view of the mountains outside their windows. You don't get that kind of view in Columbia!

I love your Tricks of the Ton series and was wondering how many more books In the series I have to look forward to reading. Can you give us a hint at what your planning next?

Oh, wow! You're local, Jeanne! I'm trying to set up a book signing in Columbia, but I don't have a firm date set yet. Columbia is actually my hometown...well, that's what I tell people who don't know the area. I grew up out 378 toward Sumter. What a small world! :) As for my books, I'm so glad you like the beginning of the series! After these first 2 books, How to Lose a Lord in 10 Days or Less releases in July. That story is about Lord Amberstall, who is introduced in book 1, but now he's on his way home from Scotland where he's been hiding from public shame for a year. On his way home, he meets Katie Moore, who is introduced in book 2. I'm really excited about this one, so I hope you like it. There will be more books after that, promise! :) Just between us, I'm writing Evangeline Green's book now and will follow that with her cousins, Isabelle and Victoria. But, don't tell anyone, okay? ;) It was great talking to you! I hope we get to meet in real life soon!

We love South Carolina but live there ourselves - yet! We still live in snowy Rhode Island but are hoping to move to South Carolina and me near to our son, his wife and our grandchildren! My son had gone to college at The Citadel and our best friends live in Summerville (for those who don't know SC that's just west of Charleston! We've actually been looking around to a town to live in and are thinking about Camden - only about 1/2 hour away from where my son and his family is! I can't wait to read your entire series and I'll keep track at your website so I won't miss them!

Congrats on your debut novel. When I have something to celebrate, I love to gather my family and find a new restaurant. I'll be in San Antonio in July and at M&M in October. I hope we'll meet in person.

My favorite way to celebrate is to have an outside, casual picnic, get-together in our backyard. Everyone relaxes. We play yard games, swim, tell stories, play card games, talk. Everyone brings a dish to pass around.

I'm excited about finding your books. I enjoyed your interview. Best wishes for continued success!

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